Company email (April 2014):
"HEINEKEN in the UK can confirm while the majority of our ciders do not have any animal derived ingredients there is a possibility of carryover from some of our ciders that do, therefore we do not claim that any of our ciders are vegetarian/vegan."

Company email (January 2013):
"While the majority of our ciders including Strongbow Pear do not have any animal derived ingredients there is a possibility of carryover from some of our ciders that do, therefore we do not claim that any of our ciders are vegetarian.
Strongbow Pear is currently only produced by Heineken UK."

Company email (October 2012):
"With regards to our ciders, two of our products, Bulmers Original and Jacques use an animal product as a colouring material. Our other ciders including Strongbow do not use any animal products as ingredients. However some of our processes mean that very small amounts of these two ciders may come in contact with our other ciders, and as such we can't guarantee that any of our ciders are suitable for vegetarians."

Company email (September 2012):
While the majority of our ciders including Strongbow do not have any animal derived ingredients (Cochineal) there is a possibility of carryover from some of our ciders that do, therefore we do not claim that any of our ciders are vegetarian.

Company email (June 2012):
"I can confirm that one of the components of an ingredient used in the recipe for Bulmers/Magners Original cider is derived from an animal source, therefore Bulmers/Magners Original has been classified as not suitable for vegetarians." "this is the case for all Bulmers and the Magners special range."

Barnivore note: it looks like the core Strongbow products are vegan, but the company won't commit to it (it's a "may contain" thing) - here's the details we have:

And then Liam asked "So when it says on the Strongbow website, they aren’t suitable for vegetarians, it simply means they’re produced in an area where non-vegetarian drinks are made?"

And then Strongbow replied "Yes that is correct and as such we can't guarantee that any of our ciders are suitable for vegetarians."

Company email (October 2011):
"With regards to our ciders, two of our products, Bulmers Original and Jacques use an animal product as a colouring material."

Company email:
"With regards to our ciders, two of our products, Bulmers Original and Jacques use an animal product as a colouring material. Our other ciders do not use any animal products as ingredients. However some of our processes mean that very small amounts of these ciders may come in contact with our other ciders, and as such we can't guarantee that any of our ciders are suitable for vegetarians."

Company email:
"I can confirm that Strongbow is not suitable for vegan/vegetarians as we use an animal product as a colouring material."

Company email: 2006
"Strongbow and Strongbow Super are suitable for vegetarians, however,Strongbow Sirrus and Strongbow Jacques are not. "